Spirits Unknown
by HatchetChu
Summary: During the battle with Azula, Zuko and Katara are flung into Middle Earth. Once there, they decide to help the people however way they can. Zutara. Title subject to change, I don't own the cover art, and am horrible as summaries. T for safety. Post Avatar series-end. Pre-LotR Movies.
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

It started three months ago.

At first, everyone passed it off as fake. Just a fantasy told by drunks who wandered the streets at night and street urchins who had nothing to call their own.

But then, two guards saw.

It was supposed to be a routine patrol: walk around the perimeter of the town, dispatching any Orcs that were spotted.

It was a routine patrol; they had found nothing and were heading back to the guard tower.

And then they saw it.

An unearthly blue light emanating from one of the houses.

The house belonged to a merchant and his family. The merchant's son was injured when the caravan was attacked by a band of Orcs, leaving him near death. Despite the healers' best attempts to save the boy; there was nothing to be done. They had given him a week, at most, and left herbs to ease his passing.

Suspicious, the two guards approached the house. Right before they went to open the door, they saw a blur leave the house at an astonishing speed. Knowing that they would not be able to catch up in their armor, one of the guards took out his cross-bow and fired at the retreating figure.

The arrow never reached its target.

Before it came within five feet of the blur, another blur intercepted it. This one held two swords that were used to block the arrow.

At that moment, the moon decided to show itself and the guards saw the blurs' true forms.

One was a woman, garbed in dark, flowing purple and red robes – which seemed to be held up with rope and a large white shell – with a long translucent veil falling from the straw hat she wore. She had strange markings upon her arms and face and crescent moon upon her forehead that was obscured by the hood she wore beneath her hat – the same dark purple as her robes. The woman, both would later agree, was hauntingly beautiful as she stared at them with eyes the same shade of blue as the light they saw. She was the arrow's target.

The one who blocked the arrow was striking in a completely different way.

It had the body of a man, dressed completely in black. Two identical, dangerous looking, swords were in its hands. They were held in front of him defensively, the figure had not moved from when the arrow was blocked. The guards' blood turned to ice when they looked upon the figures face. It had the face of a demon, blue with white accents, which seemed to be smiling at them with pointed fangs. Where eyes should have been there was nothing, just an endless void of black that seemed to devour one's soul.

A cloud of fog materialized around the figures, obscuring them from the guards' sight. When the fog cleared moments later, both the woman and demon were gone.

The next day, the merchant woke the town by shouting to the heavens that his son was miraculously healed.

After that, similar stories started popping up around. A friend or family member who was on the verge of death had miraculously been healed by a beautiful, painted woman; groups that were ambushed by Orcs were saved by a demon with a blue face, wielding twin swords.

This was how the Painted Lady and the Blue Spirit became known throughout Middle Earth.

* * *

To readers, This is only my second attempt at writing, so please be gentle.

Reviews are welcome and encouraged to let me know if I should continue this story, or leave it as is.

Flames will be used to roast marshmallows.


	2. Lightning

**Chapter One: Lightning**

It was tragic.

That was all Katara could think as she watched the Agni Kai. It was tragic how a brother and sister could be reduced to this.

Instead of love, there was hate.

Instead of compassion there was cruelty.

This wasn't a family; not in the least.

Flames roared around the arena.

Azula's bending was erratic, not caring if the city burned down around her in her attempt to finally kill her brother.

Zuko was right when he said she was slipping, but the extent of how far was unimaginable.

The calm, calculating, controlled Azula became what Katara thought the Fire Nation was like as a little girl: insane, lusting for power, burning everything and everyone who was in their way, not caring whom.

As the brother and sister continued their fight, Katara couldn't help but wonder, "Could Sokka and I have ended up like that?"

It was a valid question.

During the time they spent at the North Pole, it became obvious that Katara was a prodigy. Beating pupil who had been studying for years after a few days of training was a strong clue. Becoming a waterbending master after a month's instruction cemented it as fact.*

So the question remained. If Sokka was a waterbender, could he and Katara have ended up like Zuko and Azula?

Katara's musings were cut short as Zuko spoke, but Katara couldn't hear over the roar fires that were burning the city.

So she decided to move closer.

As she approached, she realized her mistake. She should have stayed away, not distracting Zuko from his fight. Not giving Azula another target to shoot at.

But it was too late.

Katara watched, frozen in horror, as Azula, surrounded by lightning, locked eyes with her. Katara knew she was going to die; Azula was going to kill her.

"_See you soon, Mom."_

But then something unexpected happened.

Lightning erupted from Zuko's fingertips, intercepting Azula's attack with a huge explosion.

A shock wave erupted from the blast, shaking the entire city. Katara saw Azula being thrown back, into a column. Her world erupted in white, and then she knew no more.

* * *

Zuko awoke to a world of white, white as far as the eye could see.

His head hurt and his muscles _vehemently_ protested as he motioned to sit up.

As he sat there, alone in the white nothingness, memories came flooding back. The Agni Kai. Azula. Lightning… **LIGHTNING**!

Zuko remembered preparing his chi** to redirect Azula's lightning, but he wasn't the target. In a panic he went through the motions to create lightning…

… And he did.

He actually created lightning!

His lightning collided with his sister's, knocking him out, but saving Katara.

"**KATARA**!"

Zuko scrambled to his feet, calling for his companion.

"Katara!"

As time moved on his cries became more and more frantic. Despair was beginning to set in when, after what seemed like days – it could have been years for all he knew, he couldn't feel the sun here*** – he spotted her blue clad form, lying unconscious, twenty feet away.

When he reached her, he sank down to his knees, desperately trying to wake her.

"Katara! Please, Katara, you have to wake up! Please!"

After what seemed like hours, though in reality it was only a few minutes, Katara slowly opened her eyes – Zuko thought he might burst – and, just as slowly, sat up, groaning.

Taking in her surroundings Katara asked, "Where are we?"

"I don't know," Zuko replied, "maybe we're dead and this is the Spirit World."

"I don't think so." Katara said, skeptically, "Aang said that the Spirit World was more like a swamp surrounded my mountains; not a white void."

"So what," Zuko asked her, "are we stick in a place between the Spirit and Living Worlds?"

"**Precisely**."

The voice came from behind them. Zuko and Katara whirled around to see who it was who spoke, and came face to face with Avatar Roku.

* * *

*The Gaang got to the North Pole, mid to late winter and left in the beginning of Spring so I'd say they were there for a month, two at most.

**I'm calling inner energy chi, I didn't want to use Ki or Chakra.

***I stick with the assumption that since firebenders can feel the sun, they always know what time of day it is.

**AN:** Okay, so I would have gotten this up sooner, however life threw several curve balls my way: College registration round 2, my computer fan giving out, my OS being corrupted apparently, and the time it took to get the repairs done. (I just got it back today.)

Sorry about the cliffhanger, but it was all that I have so far (I do have the next chapter planned out), and I figure a cliff is better than nothing.

So see you all next time and please leave a review!


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